California-based autonomous delivery company Zipline is helping BayCare, a not-for-profit academic healthcare system in Florida, build a healthcare drone delivery network.

This optional service should enable faster and more reliable delivery of lab samples, medications and critical supplies between facilities and directly to patients’ homes.

Zipline, approved by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), will offer on-demand, contactless delivery with safety, privacy and patient choice at the centre of the experience. The network is expected to launch in late 2027, beginning in the St Petersburg–Clearwater area before expanding across Tampa Bay.

“At BayCare, we’re always looking for ways to remove barriers and make it easier for patients to get the care they need,” said Stephanie Conners, BayCare CEO. “This new delivery option allows us to serve customers more quickly and reliably while giving patients more flexibility and convenience. It’s one more way we’re extending care beyond our walls and closer to home.”

The delivery process starts when a provider places an order into a Zipline dropbox at a designated BayCare site. Zipline’s electric drone autonomously retrieves the order then quietly flies to its destination, whether it is a patient’s yard or another facility. Upon arrival, the drone stays up to 90 metres in the air while a pod containing the order descends to the ground on a tether. The pod makes precise deliveries even in high winds and bad weather conditions, leaving the order behind while it flies back to charge for its next delivery. When not in use, the drones will be housed at two charging stations in Pinellas County.

For patients, prescription delivery by Zipline will be optional as the programme is designed to make it easy to receive medications and supplies without requiring a trip to a pharmacy or care site.

For the broader community, Zipline’s system is designed to make deliveries faster and more reliable while reducing the need for car trips for small, time-sensitive items. Its electric aircraft can help lower delivery-related emissions and traffic congestion, while its flight and delivery approach is designed to reduce neighbourhood disruption. Zipline’s aircraft and propeller design helps keep the experience quiet and brief for people nearby.

“BayCare is committed to providing the best service for our patients and supporting the clinicians who care for them,” said Donna Lynch, vice president at BayCare. “Working with Zipline gives us the opportunity to build a more connected and efficient delivery network across west central Florida and meet our patients where they are.”

Hillary Brendzel from Zipline added: “BayCare is thinking ahead about what better healthcare delivery should look like for patients, clinicians and communities. We want people to have great experiences with healthcare wherever they are, from hospitals, clinics, pharmacies and even right at homes. Zipline will help BayCare get providers and patients the supplies they need, reliably and quickly, wherever they are.”

Zipline will not access any BayCare patient information and is fully compliant with all relevant regulations, including patient privacy laws. As with many traditional delivery providers, Zipline’s system collects just enough information to transport deliveries safely from A to B, just the weight, volume and carriage requirements such as temperature and handling instructions of the package.

Zipline helps reduce package theft by giving patients precise delivery windows and real-time tracking, so they know exactly when an order will arrive rather than leaving it unattended for hours. In addition, Zipline can deliver to backyards and other private locations, helping keep packages out of public view.

Zipline’s aircrafts include many redundant flight-critical systems and are designed to reduce human interactions by keeping the aircraft far away from humans and physical obstacles.

BayCare (BayCare.org) is a not-for-profit academic healthcare system that connects individuals and families to a wide range of services at 16 hospitals, including a children’s hospital, and hundreds of other locations throughout the Tampa Bay and central Florida regions.

Zipline (Zipline.com) operates on four continents, makes a delivery somewhere in the world every 20 seconds, and serves more than 5000 hospitals and health facilities.